John 10 Sheep in Need of a GPS Unit

Secular:

• In Grade 10 for Activity Day… I went to a parachute club in Abbotsford…
• We learned
• We watched
• We went up
• And we saw people jump
• For my 16th Birthday…
• My Father and I went
• We learned
• We watched
• We went up…
• And we faced our base fear…
• Child… noise
• Child… insecurity
• We want to be held…
• We want someone there…
• When we hurt
• When we are scared
• When we are lonely….
• Too be held is comfort… is love… is protection….
• We need to be held…

** God loves us… protects us… we are Held in the Hand of God

Biblical:

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 "I and the Father are one."

Personal:

• Remembering our birthday…
• Remembering our favourite colour
• Know what we do… why we do it… how we do it…
• Shared Passions… hobby, job, sport… even same hometown
• We love running into people from the same hometown… (we did in Banff… late 70’s)
• We want people to know us… who we are… our likes and dislikes… what we do…
• We also want to be protected…  kept safe… free from injury… free from unsavoury outcomes
• We want to be secure… not fearing what’s ahead
• We want to be held... comforted, loved…

Bridge:

• Jesus the Glorious Risen Christ… provides all of that…
•  Human relationships fail…
• Intimacy Breaks down
• No Protection
• No security
• No being held
• Jesus the Good Shepherd offers this all to his sheep…
• Intimacy, protection, security… and the loving embrace of God

Body:

To be Known

10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

• Ever see a dog that recognizes his owner…
• Just the sound of his voice…
• Feeding, caring, loving…
• Or a baby and her mother…
• Just the sound of her voice…
• Security, love, affection…
• Or a child of God… at the words of their Saviour
• 1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
• The words of our God… Reaction love and affection over flowing… (Our tails wagging)
• 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
• Voice of our Mother… most comforting
• Our relationship… most comforting
• Our redeemer… most comforting
• To hear his voice….
• To know… (what does that mean)
• Luke 1:34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
• To know is intimate….
• John 8:54 Jesus answered… and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.
• To know is to be close…
•  Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb…
• To know is to be fearfully and wonderfully made…

God knows us!! (Intimately) reaction…

•  FOLLOW ME!
• Give it up…
• Rich young ruler
• Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
• Take up your cross…
• Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
• Hear him, Know and be known… Follow!!
• John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
• To really KNOW is to Follow!!
•  To Be Known… His Word… Intimately… Intentionally

To be Protected

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;

• kept safe… free from injury… free from unsavoury outcomes
• Matthew 13:49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…
• How kept safe…
• Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
• Power of Faith in Christ…
• … answered with faith… Matthew 16:18 "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church (my gathering); and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
• Ultimate protection… not temporary… forever…
• kept safe… free from injury… free from unsavoury outcomes
• To be Protected

To be Secure

28b …no one will snatch them out of My hand.

-          We hate uncertainty!! We want a certain… positive future

o       Stock Markets…. Big crashes (80’s & post 9/11)

o       Faith in what….

• Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
• God’s plan… anchored in who God is… anchored in Him…
• Not in Man…
• Not in Money
• But in the eternal God
• Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
•  Legal seal… inheritance… will… a promise… of redemption…
• 1 Peter 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
•  We belong to God!!... (Beat up for lunch money…)
• Protected by God… nobody steals HIS lunch money
• 1 John 5:11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
• It is God’s Gift…. It is in God’s Power… It is by God’s Grace… we are Secure in God!!

To be Redeemed… and in God’s Hand

29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

• Jesus came to do the Father’s will… to redeem a people… and Father who is greater than all… has given them to the Son!
• Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-
• We couldn’t do it…
• Jesus paid the price for us
• 1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price…
• God has the receipt
• Stamped “Paid in Full”
• "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
• Nothing left…
• John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
•  Not a one time event…
• on going relationship and effect
• 1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are…

è We are his children!!

è How do we react to that responsibility… as a society?

•  God’s hand… the Son of God!!
• 2 Corinthians 13:4 For indeed He was crucified because of weakness (our weakness), yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
•  To secure us… to pay the price… the Father handed over the Son
• Acts 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ-- this Jesus whom you crucified."
•  Again it is the Father’s love for us that surrenders the Son to suffering… given to Redeem…
• 1 Peter 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
•  Perfect Lamb of God…. Given as our Sacrifice……
• Our Good Shepherd… to bring us to the Father’s Fold… to Know us, to Protect and Secure us… to Redeem us…
• In biblical times… the Shepherd would gather all his sheep…
• Herding sheep is not exactly and easy task!
• But they would know his voice…
• They would know that he would protect… and that they would be secure…
• And the shepherd would sleep across the opening to the cave or pen that they were held in…
• So that no one could snatch away a sheep… nor could one of his fold escape…
• (Defend against wolves and Thieves… Safe in his Fold…)
• Wild Sheep… eventually fall prey to the world…
• Those he foreknew he predestined… those he predestined he called… those he has called… justified and those he justified he has also glorified…
• God’s plan… that those who know his voice… are protected and secured because they have been redeemed…
• The Lord God almighty holds us fast in his hand…
• A hand that was pierced through for our sin…

I asked Jesus, "How much do you love me?" And He replied, "This much!" And he stretched out his arms and died on the cross .